IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jcmkts/v52y2014i5p1142-1159.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Explaining European Disintegration

Author

Listed:
  • Hans Vollaard

Abstract

While the possibility of European disintegration is prominently on the public agenda, European Union (EU) studies have so far largely neglected the issue. This article looks for a proper theoretical starting point to conceptualize and explain European disintegration. Theories about European integration, but also international politics, comparative federalism, optimum currency areas and imperial decline appear to be problematic bases to this end. Some of these theories suffer from a state bias. Other theories are too narrowly focused to explain the complex process of disintegration. Yet others fail to interconnect coherently the manifold disintegrative factors. A theoretical framework on polity formation developed by Bartolini is the most promising basis from which to examine European disintegration as it avoids the problems just mentioned. It shows that Eurosceptic dissatisfaction mainly induces partial exits within the EU due to the EU's weak lock-in power, its problematic voice structuring and the lack of proper full exit options.

Suggested Citation

  • Hans Vollaard, 2014. "Explaining European Disintegration," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(5), pages 1142-1159, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:52:y:2014:i:5:p:1142-1159
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/jcms.12132
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Athanassiou, Phoebus, 2009. "Withdrawal and expulsion from the EU and EMU: some reflections," Legal Working Paper Series 10, European Central Bank.
    2. Bednar,Jenna, 2009. "The Robust Federation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521703963.
    3. Bednar,Jenna, 2009. "The Robust Federation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521878999.
    4. Barry Eichengreen, 2012. "European Monetary Integration with Benefit of Hindsight," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(S1), pages 123-136, March.
    5. M.J. Artis, 2003. "Reflections on the optimal currency area (OCA) criteria in the light of EMU," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 8(4), pages 297-307.
    6. Ferrera, Maurizio, 2005. "The Boundaries of Welfare: European Integration and the New Spatial Politics of Social Protection," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199284672.
    7. Jan Delhey, 2007. "Do Enlargements Make the European Union Less Cohesive? An Analysis of Trust between EU Nationalities," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(2), pages 253-279, June.
    8. Jan Delhey, 2007. "Do Enlargements Make the European Union Less Cohesive? An Analysis of Trust between EU Nationalities," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45, pages 253-279, June.
    9. Gary Marks, 2012. "Europe and Its Empires: From Rome to the European Union," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1), pages 1-20, January.
    10. McKay, David, 1999. "Federalism and European Union: A Political Economy Perspective," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198296775.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Catherine E. De Vries, 2023. "How Foundational Narratives Shape European Union Politics," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 867-881, July.
    2. Tim Haughton, 2016. "Beelines, Bypasses and Blind Alleys: Theory and the Study of the European Union," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54, pages 65-82, September.
    3. Helen Wallace, 2017. "The JCMS Annual Review Lecture: In the Name of Europe," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55, pages 8-18, September.
    4. Tim Haughton, 2017. "Editorial: Take Back Control: The European Union in 2016," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55, pages 5-7, September.
    5. Brigitte Pircher, 2022. "EU Public Procurement Policy During Covid-19: A Turning Point for Legitimate EU Governance?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 10(3), pages 131-142.
    6. Ekrem Yasar Akcay, 2018. "Possible Effects Of Uk?S Separation From Eu," International Journal of Social Sciences, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences, vol. 7(1), pages 1-12, March.
    7. Anne Elizabeth Stie & Jarle Trondal, 2020. "Introducing the Study of Nordic Cooperation," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(4), pages 1-10.
    8. Mats Braun, 2020. "Postfunctionalism, Identity and the Visegrad Group," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(4), pages 925-940, July.
    9. Cunico, Giovanni & Aivazidou, Eirini & Mollona, Edoardo, 2021. "Building a dynamic theory of citizens’ awareness of European Cohesion Policy interventions," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 289(2), pages 758-773.
    10. Ivan Josipovic & Sieglinde Rosenberger & Helena Segarra, 2023. "Policy Entrepreneurs of European Disintegration? The Case of Austrian Asylum Governance After 2015," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(3), pages 79-90.
    11. Markus Gastinger, 2021. "Introducing the EU exit index measuring each member state’s propensity to leave the European Union," European Union Politics, , vol. 22(3), pages 566-585, September.
    12. Tomasz Rosiak, 2015. "Fiscal Capacity For Euro Area – Towards A Bigger Eu Budget?," Oeconomia Copernicana, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 6(3), pages 45-60, September.
    13. Anne Elizabeth Stie & Jarle Trondal, 2020. "Introducing the Study of Nordic Cooperation," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(4), pages 332-341.
    14. Petros E. Ioannatos, 2021. "Brexit or Euro for the UK? Evidence from Panel Data," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 63(1), pages 117-138, March.
    15. Markéta PEKARČà KOVà & Michaela STANà ČKOVÃ, 2022. "Analysis of the current integration process: from the past to the future of the European Union," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 13, pages 116-139, December.
    16. V. Sidenko, 2017. "The crisis processes in the EU development: origins and prospects," Economy and Forecasting, Valeriy Heyets, issue 1, pages 7-30.
    17. Brigitte Pircher & Karl Loxbo, 2020. "Compliance with EU Law in Times of Disintegration: Exploring Changes in Transposition and Enforcement in the EU Member States between 1997 and 2016," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(5), pages 1270-1287, September.
    18. Lindner, Vincent & Eckert, Sandra & Nölke, Andreas, 2022. "Political science research on the reasons for the (non) adoption and (non) implementation of EMU reform proposals: The state of the art," SAFE Working Paper Series 339, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    19. Elisabeth Donat & Simon Lenhart, 2023. "The Debate on the European Union’s Future From the Perspective of Regional Members of Parliament," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(3), pages 45-58.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Frederik Hjorth, 2016. "Who benefits? Welfare chauvinism and national stereotypes," European Union Politics, , vol. 17(1), pages 3-24, March.
    2. Srinivas C. Parinandi, 2020. "Policy Inventing and Borrowing among State Legislatures," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 64(4), pages 852-868, October.
    3. Tobias Arnold & Sean Mueller & Adrian Vatter, 2021. "Shock or Design: What Drives Fiscal De/Centralization? A Comparative Analysis of Twenty-Nine OECD Countries, 1995–2017," Publius: The Journal of Federalism, CSF Associates Inc., vol. 51(1), pages 1-26.
    4. Robert E. Ross, 2016. "Federalism and the Electoral College: The Development of the General Ticket Method for Selecting Presidential Electors," Publius: The Journal of Federalism, CSF Associates Inc., vol. 46(2), pages 147-169.
    5. repec:gig:joupla:v:5:y:2013:i:2:p:133-150 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Odelia Oshri & Tamir Sheafer & Shaul R Shenhav, 2016. "A community of values: Democratic identity formation in the European Union," European Union Politics, , vol. 17(1), pages 114-137, March.
    7. Bernard Hoekman & Douglas Nelson, 2020. "Rethinking international subsidy rules," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(12), pages 3104-3132, December.
    8. Gemma Sala, 2014. "Can Courts Make Federalism Work? A Game Theory Approach to Court-Induced Compliance and Defection in Federal Systems," Economies, MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-25, December.
    9. Adolph, Christopher & Greer, Scott L. & Massard da Fonseca, Elize, 2012. "Allocation of authority in European health policy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(9), pages 1595-1603.
    10. Patricia Popelier, 2017. "Federalism Disputes and the Behavior of Courts: Explaining Variation in Federal Courts’ Support for Centralization," Publius: The Journal of Federalism, CSF Associates Inc., vol. 47(1), pages 27-48.
    11. Bruno Arpino & Anastassia V. Obydenkova, 2020. "Democracy and Political Trust Before and After the Great Recession 2008: The European Union and the United Nations," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 395-415, April.
    12. Konstantin Chatziathanasiou & Svenja Hippel & Michael Kurschilgen, 2020. "Do rights to resistance discipline the elites? An experiment on the threat of overthrow," Munich Papers in Political Economy 08, Munich School of Politics and Public Policy and the School of Management at the Technical University of Munich.
    13. T. Clark Durant & Michael Weintraub, 2014. "How to make democracy self-enforcing after civil war: Enabling credible yet adaptable elite pacts," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 31(5), pages 521-540, November.
    14. James E. Monogan & David M. Konisky & Neal D. Woods, 2017. "Gone with the Wind: Federalism and the Strategic Location of Air Polluters," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 61(2), pages 257-270, April.
    15. Michael Kumove, 2022. "Does Language Foster Reconciliation? Evidence From the Former Yugoslavia," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 66(4-5), pages 783-808, May.
    16. Liesbet Hooghe & Gary Marks, 2012. "Beyond Federalism - Estimating and Explaining the Territorial Structure of Government," KFG Working Papers p0037, Free University Berlin.
    17. Bradley, Daniel & Pantzalis, Christos & Yuan, Xiaojing, 2016. "The influence of political bias in state pension funds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(1), pages 69-91.
    18. Bettina Petersohn & Nathalie Behnke & Eva Maria Rhode, 2015. "Negotiating Territorial Change in Multinational States: Party Preferences, Negotiating Power and the Role of the Negotiation Mode," Publius: The Journal of Federalism, CSF Associates Inc., vol. 45(4), pages 626-652.
    19. T. Durant, 2011. "Making executive politics mutually productive and fair," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 141-172, June.
    20. Stefan Voigt & Lorenz Blume, 2012. "The economic effects of federalism and decentralization—a cross-country assessment," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 151(1), pages 229-254, April.
    21. Estache, Antonio & Garsous, Grégoire & Seroa da Motta, Ronaldo, 2016. "Shared Mandates, Moral Hazard, and Political (Mis)alignment in a Decentralized Economy," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 98-110.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:52:y:2014:i:5:p:1142-1159. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0021-9886 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.